CHICAGO (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo
has subpoenaed Merck & Co and Schering-Plough Corp for
documents and information to see whether the companies hid the
results of a study on their cholesterol drug Vytorin.

The move, announced on Saturday, came one day after U.S.
regulators said they would review the study, called Enhance,
which showed Vytorin worked no better than a generic in
preventing the build-up of arterial plaque.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was not
advising doctors to stop prescribing Vytorin, but shares of the
two companies fell on Friday as news of the review unnerved
investors.

The two stocks have fallen more than 20 percent since the
results of the study were released on January 14, triggering a
debate over Vytorin's value.

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Cuomo said the investigation would review the marketing of
Vytorin and also the sale of the companies' stocks to investors
before the study's negative results were disclosed.

"We will investigate and, when appropriate, hold
accountable drug companies for engaging in irresponsible and
deceptive conduct and any deceitful marketing of prescription
drugs," Cuomo said in a statement on Saturday.

"Drug companies are on notice that concealing critical
information about life-saving prescription drugs, profiting at
the expense of patients' health, and wasting taxpayer dollars,
is simply unacceptable."

Vytorin combines the widely used generic Zocor with a newer
cholesterol-fighting pill called Zetia. The Enhance study
examined Vytorin against Zocor alone in patients with a rare
genetic predisposition to dangerously high cholesterol levels.

Vytorin failed to halt the clogging of neck arteries better
than Zocor alone, but did a better job of reducing "bad" LDL
cholesterol.

"We are aware of the subpoena and will cooperate with the
attorney general's office. The company stands behind our
products as we have done nothing wrong," said Schering-Plough
spokeswoman Rosemarie Yancosek.

Those sentiments were echoed by Merck.

"We've received the subpoenas and will cooperate fully.
Merck stands behind the safety and efficacy profiles of both
Zetia and Vytorin," Merck spokesman Chris Garland wrote in an
e-mail. "We acted with integrity and good faith in connection
with the clinical trial."

Merck and Schering-Plough sell Vytorin and Zetia in a joint
venture, and the products have combined annual sales of about
$5 billion.